Skunk stripe on two-piece Vintage/Modern necks?No,thank you!

[whitebison66]

Totally irrelevant post:

My favorite Wikipedia luthier is Shamma Lamma Ding Dong.

 

[OzziePete]

What’s ironic are those who tried to tell me all about how Leo really didn’t like the 3-Bolt yada, yada. But the funny thing is G&L used the 3-Bolt Micro Tilt on  their Legacy model. I understand G&L made the pocket deeper but the word is the G&L 3-Bolt Legacy is preferred over the G&L 4 Bolt Legacy.

On this: From what I remember of a very rare interview with Leo in Guitar Player magazine years ago, he was defending the technology of the 3 bolt neck system he devised. He said - or similar attitude expressed anyways - that the tolerances have to be spot on or you get the issues that were surfacing at that time about the 3 bolt neck in Fenders. His view IIRC, was that it was more of a Fender QC issue than the neck attachment system being faulty in design.

In years after that interview (at that time he was early on with MusicMan) he went onto prove that with G & L....

That said, I suspect there's a number of us old fuddy duddies who played those loose 70s 3 bolt Strats and shudder at the mere thought of actually buying a 3 bolt neck guitar.

 

[Cagey]

I normally give the wiki a great deal of credence, but in this case I suspect that there simply hasn't been much attention paid to this entry, or I'm sure it would have been edited to some degree.

While a luthier can do repairs, a repairman is not necessarily a luthier, and in fact rarely is. Luthiers are the designer/engineers of the stringed instrument world, while techs are just that - techs. Not to take anything away from techs - they're indispensable - but they're not designers or engineers. They're caretakers with an understanding of them that escapes most people, even those who live with the instruments.

 

[NovasScootYa]

What’s ironic are those who tried to tell me all about how Leo really didn’t like the 3-Bolt yada, yada. But the funny thing is G&L used the 3-Bolt Micro Tilt on  their Legacy model. I understand G&L made the pocket deeper but the word is the G&L 3-Bolt Legacy is preferred over the G&L 4 Bolt Legacy.

On this: From what I remember of a very rare interview with Leo in Guitar Player magazine years ago, he was defending the technology of the 3 bolt neck system he devised. He said - or similar attitude expressed anyways - that the tolerances have to be spot on or you get the issues that were surfacing at that time about the 3 bolt neck in Fenders. His view IIRC, was that it was more of a Fender QC issue than the neck attachment system being faulty in design.

In years after that interview (at that time he was early on with MusicMan) he went onto prove that with G & L....

That said, I suspect there's a number of us old fuddy duddies who played those loose 70s 3 bolt Strats and shudder at the mere thought of actually buying a 3 bolt neck guitar.

The micro-tilt discs are case hardened and a slippery surface for the tip of the adjustment screw. Later on Fender dimpled the neck disc with hopes that would help with the wiggle. Micro-Tilt relies on a tight pocket to function properly. The ¼”-28TPI screw produces bunches of torque but not enough to keep the adjustment screw tip from slipping around on the disc. Most neck pockets on ‘70s bodies were deeper than 5/8” and are dependant on the Micro Tilt for setup. On the other hand some ‘70s pockets were shallow and would allow backing off the adjustment screw for wood to wood contact which makes things more like a 4 bolt. Two #8 wood screws are no match for a single ¼”-28TPI machine screw.
I’ve built a herd of ‘70s 3-Bolts, 5 are pictured on this site, three are ’70s Fender. Some of the pockets were actually too tight for a Warmoth neck and some were dead on and some very loose. The sloppy ones are much more common after 1975 ½ when Fender began to square the neck pocket. Fender continues today odd-ball squaring some ‘70s RI Strat pockets and from what I’ve seen all ‘72 RI Tele Deluxe models; neither are like a Telecaster pocket.
I designed the kit that made it possible to attach a Pro-Construction neck to a 3-Bolt Body and a kit that makes it possible to attach a Pro-neck to a Fender contour heel body. It’s not rocket science it was more or less reshuffling the deck, dealing a different hand and hard work.
The patent # for Clarence L. Fender’s Tiltable Guitar Neck Incorporating Thrust-Absorbing Pivot and Locking Mechanism is 3,550,496. My design eliminated the pocket disc, two screws, adjustment screw and recess in the heel. It also modified the main disc, centered its mounting points and modified the machine screw length. The end result is a new race horse.

 

[NovasScootYa]

Frank Ford, arguably the best guitar repairman on this planet, says he is not a luthier, but just a guitar repairman.  He reserves the term for those who actually make guitars.  Thats his way of looking at it, with his very down to earth and quite pleasant demeanor.

I cant consider anyone who buys all the parts off the shelf, puts a finish on them, and assembles them, a luthier.  Sorry, it doesn't fit.  At best, they're a technician.  That includes me.

When you carve your own bodies and necks, lay out all the frets, calculate the bridge position, work out all the details from nothing more than raw wood, and end up with a fine instrument - then you're a luthier.   And thats my way of looking at it, with my down to earth, and quite pleasant demeanor.

Humbug.

In general a luthier is a repairer, builder and restorer of stringed instruments. As for the violin family of instruments, to become a top notch luthier you have to study under a master like Rene

Frank Ford, arguably the best guitar repairman on this planet, says he is not a luthier, but just a guitar repairman.  He reserves the term for those who actually make guitars.  Thats his way of looking at it, with his very down to earth and quite pleasant demeanor.

I cant consider anyone who buys all the parts off the shelf, puts a finish on them, and assembles them, a luthier.  Sorry, it doesn't fit.  At best, they're a technician.  That includes me.

When you carve your own bodies and necks, lay out all the frets, calculate the bridge position, work out all the details from nothing more than raw wood, and end up with a fine instrument - then you're a luthier.   And thats my way of looking at it, with my down to earth, and quite pleasant demeanor.

Humbug.

In general a luthier is a repairer, builder and restorer of stringed instruments. As for the violin family of instruments, to become a top notch luthier you have to study under a master like Rene Morel. In the ’80s I built violins from scratch, repaired a few, etc. but in no way am I qualified to restore or adjust a Strad, Amati, Guarnia, etc. The people who maintain such instruments are in a class of their own because they earned it. I mean if someone applied for a violin maker school and their experience was building guitars the school would assume the applicant selected the wood, built the neck, body and did not buy the parts pre-finished like most of us do. Obviously Frank Ford and you understand that, some do not.
Here’s a link to a site that shows on the page bottom what a luthier can do…
http://www.burgessviolins.com/Oberlin/oberlinrestoration.htm

 

[OzziePete]

NovaScootYa: Have you thought - or is it possible - to claim some sort of patent for your design improvement?

 

[NovasScootYa]

NovaScootYa: Have you thought - or is it possible - to claim some sort of patent for your design improvement?

Yes I have and yes it is patentable according to what I've found on the USPTO, during an application there's a ton of stuff they search for that's not listed and way over my head to find. Most patents wind up sitting on a shelf, I have one of those thanks to another brain-storm. But being as the product (ProAttach) has been made public and marketed, it can no longer can be patented by others as an invention. I sent a kit  to Warmoth, I've sent a kit to Fender indirectly via a factory rep who said he was Warmoth fan and also showed him one of my builds, it all takes awhile.